Chapter 53. Testing
John's POV
It all had been thoroughly prepared. The area, the generators, safety personnel and all the paraphernalia related to scientific experiments. Wires and more wires, Mako being the ultimate energy source we would try and use… because we wanted to this as secretly as possible.
Of course, we all knew we'd be surprised: that's the way science works and, in the physics field, it all resumed to the same universal truths I used to apply at the lab, when I researched in small, microscopic things.
Nonetheless, this was totally different and I felt truly out of my comfort zone, but the General insisted I should run this… investigation. And I, secretly, wanted to be involved because to be truly honest with myself, I wanted Elie back to our world as much as he did. Even if I knew she would be running to his arms and look at me with that stare of admiration, a stare so caring it hurt. It was a fact she saw me as a brother of sorts, family or a close friend with whom she shared everything. Sadly, I always had had a crush on her.
Multiple times I had imagined how wonderful it would feel if she gazed upon me the way she gazed upon the General. I didn't need that much adoration, really… I only wished a small part of it. It was impressive, how in the middle of all those hateful words they had shared the last time I saw them speak to each other, there was still complicity in their eyes. It flowed, and they didn't see it, so busy in their silly fight accusing each other like proud brats.
Anyway, today our experimentation had been divided in two parts: one, in which we tried to transport a note inside Elie's world. My recent investigations on their world's localization methods allowed me to adjust the coordinates into exact places - namely, Elie's house and the cemetery, Zack's grave specifically. I had to thank that to those flashy search engines they had on Earth, actually.
So we've sent Elie a note, hoping she would get it, and having our ultimate confirmation when we would try and retrieve that very same note. Of course, we felt very doubtful about all it. The time frame, the coordinate supposition… there were so many things we weren't sure about, doubt clouded us all… until the moment came.
The moment we turned the energy sources on again and forced the influx, merged with our accelerated beating hearts, and we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the note land in our testing area, like a leaf in the wind.
Months of work now resumed to this moment: we had been able to create a PORTAL, even if for brief moments, successfully transporting in and out that note.
I was still flabbergasted with the results, the whole thing pumping inside my mind, my brain working at a velocity I couldn't possibly describe, when he called.
The General.
I grabbed the phone, knowing he had figured us out. Which was normal and even expectable to be that way, considering the man was very intuitive. And he knew Mako in a way we didn't.
I knew he would be here quickly, anxious to know how it all went.
So, in the middle of the cleaning, as we allowed the structure we had built to have a proper rest, my office was invaded by the General, who had the most eager complexion. I dared to say I had rarely seen the man with such face and deep inside my mind, I wondered what else could Elie do to this man with more permanent contact.
"Tell me how it went." He said, eyes wide open.
"Have a sit." I gestured, and poured some hot coffee into a mug. "Want some? It's early."
"I'd rather know what happened."
I raised an eyebrow, and decided I should sit by my desk, even if the General insisted in standing.
I took a sip of the coffee, the warm and bitter fluid giving me comfort.
"It worked." I declared. "We managed to get a note inside Elie's world, and get it back successfully."
The General merely blinked in reaction.
"So you made contact?"
Contact?
"You mean talking to her? No." I clarified. "We send her a note with a brief description of what we were doing and told her exactly where to put the note to retrieve it." The words came out, and I knew the General was absorbing completely what I was saying, sensing something important was about to come. "It worked, General."
The man in front of me tried to remain calm and unbiased, but I sensed uneasiness from him.
"Show me the note," he asked, and I got up the chair where I was sitting. I passed by him, giving him the hint I would acquiesce to his request.
So, carefully accommodated in our test boxes, there was Elie's note. Our first victorious attempt.
I saw how Sephiroth's eyes changed as he processed what he was seeing. He grabbed the rigid, testing box, scanning the note's content, re-reading it over and over again. I didn't dare to interrupt the moment, and let him be the one speaking first.
"What's the next step? Living organisms?"
I smiled at his logics.
"Exactly, we'll start with guinea pigs first, then-"
"I'll do it, Medina."
His declaration rendered me speechless, for a brief moment, and I had to gather the capacity to explain him… it wasn't that simple.
"We don't know if that's even possible, General." I declared. "It has to be tested for viability first… we know inert objects can go in and out without problem but living organisms… life, it's a total different matter."
"You have a week to do your testing, Medina." The General said, serious as ever. "Then, I'll go and get her back."
I swear I felt a shiver all over my spine when I heard the man say such things. Namely because I was very sure things wouldn't be prepared and tested decently in a week. Not a chance.
"I can't assure you I-"
"Do your best. I trust you."
And again, another shiver. This was getting weird and I didn't know what and how to feel. Stress was taking over me, I hadn't sleep all night and now the general was basically demanding a quick solution.
"Start with rabbits, then go for larger animals." The General suggested, handing me the box with Elie's note. "Try to inject them with Mako to see how it goes and let me know the results. Daily."
And with that the General left my office, leaving me with a terrible headache.
Elie's POV
I had checked the wall clock at least twenty times this afternoon.
I couldn't wait to leave the bar today. I didn't know why but I felt very anxious today. In fact this anxiety had woken up with me and made me company for the whole day. Yet again, my eyes landed on the clock, that seemed, actually, stopped.
I narrowed my eyes at my logics.
"Larry, is the clock working?" I asked, hoping Larry would hear me right there in that corner of the bar.
He stared back at me, his eyes landing on the clock for brief moments.
"Yes, it is." He concluded. "Why?"
"Nothing, it's just… nothing. Nevermind."
I saw the man look at me actually puzzled. He wasn't quite grasping what was going on. And, to be honest, neither did I. I only knew I wanted to be out of this bar as soon as possible. Period.
"If you have to leave, go." He declared. "I'll cover the bar for the remaining ten minutes until Frances comes up."
I took a deep breath, feeling totally relieved.
"Thanks Larry, I… I really need to go."
He smiled softly at me and shook his head. He clearly didn't grasp our female-stressing-out but he was patient enough to let us do our stuff. Thing was, if he was able to put up with Frances, the man was prepared for war.
I grabbed my stuff and put my coat on, my feet dragging me to the local cemetery. There it was again, this need of going there, even if I knew Zack wasn't there anymore. I still didn't know what had happened and wondered every day. Where would he be, where had he been taken to?
There were no answers, as my eyes lingered on the grave that had been violated weeks ago. I took another deep breath, the cold of the impending night freezing my nose.
"Feeling nostalgic, I see."
I shivered at the sound of that voice. It came from my left side, and I slowly turned to confirm I wasn't… dreaming.
The image of a very calm and steady Patrick rewarded my eyes and I didn't know what to think. So I eventually spoke my mind.
"I thought you were dead." I whispered, unable of speaking firmly.
Patrick snorted, smiling deviously at me.
"Who says I'm not?"
I blinked at him, feeling confused and frightened. A cold shiver ran through my spine and I took a good look at him, trying to find in such distance, something that might gave away his… status.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, "Why do you keep… haunting me like this?"
My questions didn't have an immediate answer. Patrick locked his stare with mine, his cold blue eyes invading the warmness of mine. I didn't know what to think, but it was a fact I felt fear of his silence and the meaning behind such enigmatic answers.
"He looks the same you do now." Patrick said. "It's so obvious now, the way it moves inside you… just like it did within him."
This was actually spooking me.
"What are you talking about for heaven's sake?" I whispered, running out of words to say.
Patrick looked serious, taking his time answering me again.
"The blond one, that I caught unburiying your friend here." He explained. "He didn't let me do or say a thing to defend myself. He simply…"
The pause on Patrick's speech was proof enough I wasn't talking with a living person, now it was pretty obvious. The deduction was easy and fast and, for seconds, all I wanted was to run away from this place. I gulped dry and took another deep breath.
"It was then that I saw it. The glow." He said, "Just like the one you have."
I bit my lip and shook my head, decided to put a stop in this, realizing every peace was now in place. Now, I understood.
"I'm sorry he did that to you, Patrick." I said, apologizing over Cloud's reactions. "He… probably wanted to get his friend back and… you interrupted him."
"He didn't have to do this to me." Patrick said, angry.
"No, he didn't." I said, shaking my head and closing my eyes for a moment, completely out of words to offer any comfort to the dead man… spirit or whatever was speaking to me right now. "What you see glowing inside me is… something foreign."
Patrick narrowed his blue eyes at me.
"What did they do to you?"
Confronted with Patrick's question, I realized I couldn't answer him. There were no words able to describe what had happened while I had been in their world, and the memories of me and Sephiroth were still too recent.
I needed out of this moment and place, right now.
"I have to go." I said, with my eyes on the ground, my shaky legs taking me to the exit. I didn't look back to see if Patrick still stood, if he actually moved, walked or disappeared out of thin air.
I actually didn't care. All I wanted was to get some safe and sound.
Sephiroth's POV
My eyes opened automatically, my stare meeting the ceiling, white as snow, almost neon. Breathing steadily, I had a slight feeling I had been woken up.
I narrowed my eyes at my logics. No, the word was more like - a sensation, that could very well merge reality with dreamland. As if someone touched my shoulder, a feather-like touch, so slight that could easily be confounded with breeze.
I didn't need to look at the alarm clock to know it was still nighttime. The heaviness I felt on my eyelids mixed with the strange sensation of reinvigoration in my body, and I knew it wasn't normal.
Deep inside my mind I wondered if something was happening to me. All this wakening at such early hours was becoming mathematical, beginning days after I had come back from Elie's world.
I felt strangely worried, feeling a childish fright of the eventuality of being sick. I wasn't used to not feeling well - actually I didn't know what feeling bad felt like, and my health status was consistently checked by Hojo, who always guaranteed me I was more than fine.
My body felt somehow strange, but I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. I didn't feel tired, but didn't feel 100% either.
I took a deep breath, trying to exhale my worries out of my system. Maybe I needed to pay that sick man a visit.
Just in case.
I got up, getting my mobile and dialed the lab number. I would check first if Hojo was there in such early hours, or I would wait for him to go to work if that was the case.
"Yes, boy?"
I blinked, wondering if Hojo was actually in the lab at 4 am in a week day.
"Are you at the Lab?" I asked, my tone cautious.
"No, why do you ask?"
Damn. I didn't answer right away, considering what to say - and eventually I took too much time.
"Is there something wrong with you, boy?"
It took me a couple of painful seconds to answer the man.
"I don't know."
The line went silent for moments.
"Meet me at the Lab in ten minutes."
He didn't let me answer and I exhaled silently, my mind feeling heavy. I always got doubtful about Hojo and his ways… but he was the only one that knew me in a way no one did.
Sadly, he was the only one I had to recur to when it came to health matters and only in these moments I admitted the man was actually essential to me. So, all those ideas I had concerning putting Hojo off the map seemed now very reckless.
As I dressed myself, my mind flew to Elie. I missed her terribly, her absence hurting my insides in a way I was getting used to by now. Hence the need I had in having her back for good. Definitely, to me.
Memories were all I had of her and the simplest recalling of her skin touching mine added points to my impatience.
I left home mechanically, my sword next to me.
Hojo's POV
Now this was interesting.
Sephiroth calling me in such early hours, sadly interrupting my investigational research, peaked up my curiosity.
I was obvious he wasn't feeling well or he would never call me so… desperately. He hated me and I knew it, which added a rather funny component to the fact I was, in the end, his only resource.
I had to admit I enjoyed that - only Gaia would know the amount of pride that cost him to recur to me.
I smiled as I reached the Lab, realizing he was there already. He didn't say a word as he stood, waiting for me to do or say something.
First of all, and before any talk of sorts, I connected all the machinery. After all, I didn't know what kind of tests I would be performing today. One never knew, and I smiled inwardly at my thought.
Ah, the wonders of unethical science!
"So, what brings you here, boy?"
His eyes met mine, hateful.
"I told you. I don't know exactly."
"Did you feel something out of the ordinary?" I asked.
"No." He said, averting his stare from mine. "I just don't feel like myself lately."
I narrowed my eyes at his answer. Lately. Hum.
"Since when? Can you precise a time frame?"
Sephiroth took his time considering his answer, what couldn't be a good thing. Either he was lying or making up some gibberish.
"I'm not sure… but the waking at the middle of night began some days after the Portal exploded."
There was a pause again before I spoke.
"Maybe it's related to something you did on the other side-"
"I doubt it." He interrupted me, and I just had to ask.
"Why, what did you do on the other side?"
"Sex."
The answer was fast and sharp and, as reaction, I smiled wickedly.
"Oh, really?"
"Is there a purpose to all these questions?" He asked again, and I laughed openly now.
"Of course there is a purpose. Don't be basic, boy."
Sephiroth, the great General, exhaled loudly and I wondered what he was going to say. There was a mix of anger and despair.
"Are you going to help me or not?"
I snorted and slowly nodded. Finally. Admitting he needs my help, I thought. Really, seeing someone as Sephiroth practically begging for my help wasn't only gratifying. It was overwhelming.
"Of course I am," I answered with a smiley frown, "I enjoy challenges. As you already know."
Sephiroth merely stood, listening to my words, his eyes scanning the lab. Clearly, he was looking for the gurney.
"You know the drill." I said, waving with my right hand, pointing out where the lab clothing was. "Dress up as usual and meet me at the end of the hall."
He stared up at me for a moment. The words 'end of the hall' were enough for the great General do the math.
"Do we have to start out in there?" He asked, and I was very blunt with him.
"Today, we will."
With a smile, I turned, on my way to the Mako lab.
A/N - And here's another. Sorry for the delay :) PORTAL will keep on pumping!